Broom-corn knife.



P. STEWART.

BROOM CORN KNIFE.

APPLICATION Hum 111111.24, 1911.

Patented July 18,1911.

COI-IJMIIA WWII 00.. WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PRITCI-IARD STEWART, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO I-IIBBARD, SPENCER, BARTLETT & COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BROOM-CORN KNIFE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PRITCHARD STEWART, of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Broom-Corn Knives, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to knives for cutting the heads from broom corn and has particular reference to a knife for this purpose which shall be of a construct-ion especially adapted for this use and which, in addition, shall be of simple construction and cheap to manufacture.

The matter of providing a suitable knife for cutting the heads from broom corn has been a serious one for many years among manufacturers of cutlery. The peculiar requirements of such a knife have made it dif ficult to design a construction which would relieve the hand of the operator from undue strain and enable the use of the knife for extended periods without the hand becoming cramped or chafed.

After many attempts I have produced a construction which has been found to be eminently adaptable to the work in question.

My invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein, V

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a knife constructed in accordance with my invention, the hand of an operator being shown in dotted lines, and Fig. 2 is an end view of the knife.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen I provide a knife blade 10, the knife edge 11 being curved and the opposite edge or dull portion being also slightly curved, the curve not being as pronounced as that of the edge 11. The shank of the blade 10 is seated in a handle 12, and to this handle is attached a leather loop 13, and a leather guard 14. The leather loop 13 lies underneath the heel of the blade 10, whereas the guard 1 1 lies over the dull upper edge of the knife blade and provides a seat for the hollow of the hand, as will be seen in Fig. 1.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 24, 1911.

Patented July 18, 1911.

Serial No. 616,771.

In the operation of my improved knife, the operator places the third and fourth fingers through the loop 13, extends the first and second fingers downward in a straight line parallel with the blade, the guard 14 being seated in the hollow of the hand and between the thumb and first finger. It will be seen that in this way the knife may be used for long periods of time without the hand becoming cramped and also without the possibility of chafing through contact wit-h any of the metal or wooden parts.

The manner of holding the knife in the hand also provides for the exertion of a maximum force, the force being applied where needed without leverage such as is developed when a knife is grasped by its handle.

It will be obvious that changes may be made in the exact construction herein sh own, all without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

l. A broom corn knife, comprising a blade having a curved knife edge and a handle, a loop associated with the knife and extending underneath the blade in contact with a portion of its cutting edge, and a guard above the blade extending along the back of the same in contact therewith, substantially as described.

2. A broom corn knife, comprising a blade having a curved knife edge, a handle, a loop secured to said handle, a portion of the loop extending beneath said knife blade to cover the heel of the blade and a guard also secured to said handle and extending along the back of said blade, substantially as described.

3. A broom corn knife, comprisingablade, a handle within which said blade is seated, a loop secured to said handle and extending beneath said blade and adapted to accommodate the third and fourth fingers of the hand, and a guard also secured to said handle and extending above said blade and adapted to provide a seat for the hollow of the hand, substantially as described.

4. A broom corn knife, comprisinga blade,

extending under a portion of the cutting edge of the blade.

PRITCHARD STEXVART.

Witnesses ELMER G. ELFRING, I. M. STEWART.

a handle, a strip of suitable material eX- tending along the back of the blade and secured at one of its ends to the handle, said strip extending over each side of the blade and forming a rounded seat for the palm of the hand and a loop of flexible material secured to the opposite side of the handle and Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

